Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed

YALSA AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN NONFICTION WINNER

California Book Award Winner

J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize Winner

From the New York Times-bestselling author of The 57 Bus comes Accountable, a propulsive and thought-provoking true story about the revelation of a racist social media account that changes everything for a group of high school students and begs the question: What does it mean to be held accountable for harm that takes place behind a screen?

"Powerful, timely, and delicately written." --Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times-bestselling and National Book Award-winning author

When a high school student started a private Instagram account that used racist and sexist memes to make his friends laugh, he thought of it as "edgy" humor. Over time, the edge got sharper. Then a few other kids found out about the account. Pretty soon, everyone knew.

Ultimately no one in the small town of Albany, California, was safe from the repercussions of the account's discovery. Not the girls targeted by the posts. Not the boy who created the account. Not the group of kids who followed it. Not the adults--educators and parents--whose attempts to fix things too often made them worse.

In the end, no one was laughing. And everyone was left asking: Where does accountability end for online speech that harms? And what does accountability even mean?

Award-winning and New York Times-bestselling author Dashka Slater has written a must-read book for our era that explores the real-world consequences of online choices.

More Awards and Accolades for Accountable:
Russell Freedman Award Winner
Northern California Book Award Winner
CALIBA's Golden Poppy Book Award Winner
An Evergreen Teen Book Award High School Nominee
A SCBWI Golden Kite Honor for Nonfiction Text for Older Readers
An Illinois Lincoln Readers' Choice Award Nominee
A Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award High School Category Nominee
A Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award Nominee
A Massachusetts Teen Choice Book Award Nominee
A Vermont Green Mountain Book Award Nominee
A Texas Topaz Reading List Selection
A Texas Library Association TAYSHAS Top Ten Book
A Florida Teens Read List Selection
A Missouri Association of School Librarians Dogwood Reading List Selection

Author: Dashka Slater
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
Published: 08/22/2023
Pages: 496
Weight: 1.21lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.83w x 1.54d
ISBN: 9780374314347

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 7.1
Point Value: 13
Interest Level: Middle Grade Plus
Quiz #/Name: 522519 / Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Change


Award: 2024 Yalsa Award for Excellence in Non-Fiction for Young Adults Winner - Young Adult Nonfiction
Award: 2024 Golden Kite Honorable Mention - Nonfiction Book for Older Readers


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 06/15/2023
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 07/01/2023 - Book Of Special Distinction
Publishers Weekly 07/03/2023
Booklist 07/01/2023 pg. 55
Shelf Awareness 11/21/2023
School Library Journal 09/01/2023 pg. 127

About the Author
Award-winning journalist Dashka Slater has written for such publications as The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, Salon, and Mother Jones. Her New York Times-bestselling young-adult true crime narrative, The 57 Bus, has received numerous accolades, including the Stonewall Book Award, the California Book Award, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor. It was a YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Finalist and an LA Times Book Award Finalist, in addition to receiving four starred reviews and being named to more than 20 separate lists of the year's best books, including ones compiled by The Washington Post, the New York Public Library, and School Library Journal. In 2021, The 57 Bus was named to TIME magazine's list of the 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time. The author of fifteen books of fiction and nonfiction for children and adults, Dashka teaches in Hamline University's MFA in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults program. She lives and writes in Oakland, California.